Trinitarian Anthropology
What Does it Mean for all of Creation to be Marked by the Form of the Trinity?
The 2025 Pluscarden Pentecost Lectures
to be given by Professor Tracey Rowland,
University of Notre Dame, Australia
10th–12th June 2025 at Pluscarden Abbey, near Elgin
Tuesday 10th June at 3.00 pm The Relationship between the Holy Trinity and the Human Person
Wednesday 11th June at 10.30 am The Faculties of the Human Soul and Faith, Hope and Love
Wednesday 11th June at 3.00 pm Truth, Beauty and Goodness as Gateways to the Trinity
Thursday 12th June at 10.30 am The Family as an Image of the Trinity and the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Each year the Abbot and Community of Pluscarden Abbey sponsor a series of four lectures by an invited Theologian on an aspect of Catholic Theology. Previous Lecturers have included Fr Aidan Nichols OP, Fr Martin Boland, Fr Anthony Meredith SJ, Fr Paul McPartlan, Prof. Carol Zaleski, and Fr Ian Kerr. The Lectures are held on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after Pentecost in St Scholastica’s Retreat House at the Abbey. They are open to all who wish to attend and are free (donations are always welcome). Limited accommodation is available at the Abbey and those who wish to stay should book as soon as possible. There are also many places to stay in the Elgin area: contact the local tourist office: 01343 542666.
The Lecturer
Tracey Rowland was born in Ipswich, Australia in 1963. She graduated with degrees in law and politics from the University of Queensland, in political philosophy and German language from the University of Melbourne, and in theology from the Universities of Cambridge and the Lateran. Her civil PhD was conferred by the University of Cambridge and her pontifical STL and STD degrees were conferred by the Pontifical Lateran University. She also holds a Diploma in Educational Studies from the University of London. She has published 10 books and over 150 articles in scientific journals and edited collections. Her work intersects the fields of political philosophy, theories of culture and theological anthropology. Her most recent book is titled Unconformed to the Age: Essays in Ecclesiology (Emmaus Academic, 2024). She has also authored numerous publications on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger and is a member of the editorial board of the English language edition of the Communio journal founded by Ratzinger, among others, in 1972. She has also recently been appointed as the Series Editor of the Collected Works of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI in English - some 24 volumes of his work will be translated and published over the next 12 years. From 2014-2019 she was a member of the International Theological Commission. In 2009 she was awarded the Archbishop Michael J. Miller Prize for the Promotion of Faith and Culture by the University of St Thomas in Houston, Texas, in 2012 she was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and in 2020 she was a recipient of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology. She is a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Sovereign Military Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. Her current post is a professorship in the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame (Australia). In 2016, she visited Pluscarden Abbey and fell instantly in love with the late Baxter.
The Lectures
What Does it Mean for all of Creation to be Marked by the Form of the Trinity?
Overall Summary:
St Bonaventure famously taught that all of creation is marked by the form of the Trinity. The Four Pentecost lectures will explore this theme with reference to the faculties of the human soul (the intellect, the memory and the will), the operation of the theological virtues (faith, hope and love) upon these faculties, and the soul’s apprehension of truth, beauty and goodness. Continuing this theme of the trinitarian form in creation the final lecture will provide an overview of contemporary theological studies on the Holy Family and the idea of the Catholic family as an image of the Holy Trinity.
The material will be presented at a level designed to engage an audience without any formal theological education, but with a good general knowledge of the Catholic faith.
The general areas of theology covered will be cosmology and theological anthropology, and the relevance of these themes for the work of the new evangelization will be highlighted.
The author intends to publish the lectures as a book dedicated to the memory of the much-loved Baxter.
Lecture 1: The Relationship between the Holy Trinity and the Human Person
Summary: How does the human person relate to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit? How is the form of the Trinity present in all of creation?
Lecture 2: The Faculties of the Human Soul and Faith, Hope and Love
Summary: An exploration of the trinitarian relationships between the intellect, the memory and the will and the theological virtues of faith, hope and love.
Lecture 3: Truth, Beauty and Goodness as Gateways to the Trinity
Summary: An exploration of the trinitarian relationships between truth, goodness and beauty and their importance for evangelisation.
Lecture 4: The Family as an Image of the Trinity and the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Summary: An exploration of the theology of the Holy Family and its application to the contemporary Catholic family.
To register and for further information use web form to contact the Abbey;
and to book accommodation at the Abbey contact the Guestmaster via web form.